Strand-handling apparatus



Feb. 17, l 93-l. E. w. LARSEN STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 12.1929 Patented Feb. 11, .1931

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EINER WILLIAM LARSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGN OR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK STRAND-HANDLING APPARATUS Application filedOctober 12, 1929. Serial No. 399,178.

This invention relates to strand handling apparatus, and moreparticularly to a coil take-up apparatus foruse with metal strandworking apparatus.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor efficientlycoiling strand upon an arbor and anexpedirotatablysecured at its outer end a coiling. arbor, the outer end face of thelatter abutting the inner end face of a hand wheel and link actuatedcollapsible ring comprising a plurality of segments, each having aflanged,

tapered peripheral strand receiving face. The segments are guidedradially upon the outer end face of thearbor by means of cooperatingkeyways and keys formed in and fixed upon thesegments and arbor,respectively. Rotatably secured to but longitudinally slidable upon theperiphery of the arbor is a fluidcontrolled collar provided with atapered outer end face which serves to form the strand being wound uponthe arbor into a coil and to thereafter eject the completed coil fromthearbor when the segmental ring -is collapsed. v

Other objects and advantagesof this invention will more fully appearfrom the-following detailed description, taken in connec tion with theaccompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of thisinvention, wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of theimproved coil take-up apparatus, the motive fluid control mechanism forthe strand coil formingcollar being illustrated in partial diagrammaticform;

Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section'tak'en on the line 22 of Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail'section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1',and 1, Figs. 4'and 5 are detail sectional views on x a reduced scale ofa control valve shown in i lustrates Fig. 1, for the motive fluidmechanism and ildifl'erent thereof in the operation of the apparatus.

Referring nowto the drawing in detail controlling positionswherein likereference numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views,a horizontally disposed driving spindle 10;,

fwhich is continuously rotated by suitable mechanism (not shown) isjournaled adjacent each end upon roller bearings l1-11 suitably mountedin' a housing or frame 12 provided with a base 13, which in practicemaybe supportedin a take-up compartment of a wire drawing machine (notshown). Fixed to a shouldered, outer or left end, as viewed in Fig. 1,of the spindle 10, by means of a key" and a keyway 14 is a cup-shapedcircular coiling arbor 17, the spindle projecting through a vertical endwall 18 of the arbor. A cylindrical wall portoin 19 of the arbor 17 isof asuitable length to receive varying lengths of coiled wire 20 thereonand extends toward the right, which end is open as shown at 21. Mountedupon the vertical end wall 18 of the arbor 17'is a collapsible ring 24,comprising in the present instance eight equally spaced segmentalelements 25 arranged to slide radially upon the outer face of the wall,by means of spline connections comprising keyways 26 and keys 27 (Fig.3) formed in each of the segmental elements and fixed to the wall,respectively. Secured to the vertical end wall 18 of the arbor 17 byscrews 28 are a plurality of blocks 29 which serve tov hold thesegmental elements 25 in position upon the keys 27 one of the blocksbeing positioned between each two segmental elements (Figs. 1 and 2) toform a support or guide for the coil of wire 20 during its removal fromthe apparatus, at which time the ring 24 is collapsed, as will bedescribed in the operation .of the apparatus. The position of the.

su ortin or ding end surfaces of the cel iiii'al pm 'tions l) of theblocks 29 relative to the periphery of the arbor 17 is clearly shown atthe lower left corner of Fig. 1. The opposite sides of the blocks 29serve as stop surfaces for the adjacent segmental elements 25 when thelatter are moved inwardly to their collapsed position, to be referred tolater.

Each of the segmental elements 25 when in its operated position, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, is spaced from each of the adjacent elements andserves to receive the oncoming wire from the wire drawing machine upon atapered peripheral surface 31, which at its inner end is substantiallyflush with the diameter of the arbor 17 and its outer end, which isoutside the diameter of the arbor, is provided with a flange 32 forretaining the wire thereon. The wire 20 is received upon the taperedsurfaces 31 of the elements at the outerends thereof and spiralsdownward- 'ly thereon in the form of a single layer of coiled wire untilit moves onto the periphery of the arbor 17, and then due to means to bepresently described is caused to bulge outwardly to provide a coil ofmultiple layers. Rotatably mounted upon the portion of the spindle 10which projects through the vertical wall 18 of the arbor 17 is acircular hand wheel 33 provided with a hub 34 extending from both sidesof a web portion 35 upon the periphery of which is formed a circularhand grip 36. Pivotcd to the web portion 35 adiacent the periphery ofthe hub 34 by a plurality of equally spaced shouldered pins 38 arecurved links 39, which are pivotally connected at their, opposite endsto the segmental elements 25 by shouldered screws 40, one link for eachelement. A ea or guard 41 is fixed to the end of the spindle 10 andserves to cover the ends of the pins 38.

Rotatably secured to the arbor 17 and longitudinally slidable thereon isa collar 44, which has fixed to its inner periphery a key 45reciprocable in a keyway 46 formed in the outer periphery of the arbor,the key and keyway forming a spline connection. The collar 44 at itsouter or left end is provided with a flange having an outer tapered endface 47 with which the wire 20 as it moves onto the periphery of thearbor 17 engages, the

flange being provided with an aperture 48 through which the end of thewire 20' to be coiled is threaded at the beginning of the coilingoperation. Upon the right end of the collar 44 is fixed an outer flangedend of a tapered collar 49 which is supported at its inner end upon aroller bearing 51 reciprocably mounted upon the periphery of acylindrical portion of the housing 12.

Formed in the housing or frame 10 below the spindle 10 is a cylinder 52having a piston 53 therein. A. piston rod 54 is fixed to the piston 53and the outer end of the piston rod 1s suitably secured to a lug 55formed upon the hub of the tapered collar 49. A source of motive fluid(not shown) for example, compressed air, for actuating the piston 53 ofthe cylinder 52 is connected thereto through a supply pipe 58, afour-way control valve 59 and connections 60 and 61 from the valve toopposite ends of the cylinder 52. The exhaust air from either end of thecylinder escapes through one of the connections 60 and 61, through thevalve 59 and out a pipe 62, except during one operation of the apparatusshown in Fig. 1, wherein the cylinder 52 exhausts through the connection61, a port 63 of the valve, a port 64 provided in the movable valveelement and fin ally through a spring controlled blow off valve 65. Theconnection 60 between the cylinder 52 and the valve 59 is connected tothe supply pipe 58 by a, connection which includes a pressure regulator66 of any suitable type. The purpose of the pressure regulator 66 is toreduce the pressure of the air from the supply pipe 58 acting on thepiston 53 in one operation ofthe apparatus, which will be describedhereinafter.

It will be understood that by operating a control handle 67 of the valve59 compressed air canbe admitted either at the right or left end of thecylinder 52 to reciprocate the piston 53 and thereby the piston rod 54.In the position of the control handle 67, as shown in Fig. 1, the airenters the cylinder 52 through the pressure regulator 66 and theconnection 60 from the supply pipe 58, due

to the port 63 of the valve 59, which port is connected to theconnection 60, being closed to the supply pipe 58. Another position ofthe control handle 67 is shown in Fig. 4 wherein the valve 59 has beenoperated to a position which will permit the full pressure of the airfrom the supply pipe 58 to enter the valve 59 and pass through the port63, which is connected to the connection 60 and thereby act upon thepiston 53 to move it quickly towards the left and through theconnections hereinbefore described the collar 44 is likewise moved. Instill. another position of the control handle 67, which is shown in Fig.5, the full pressure of the air enters the valve 59 and passes through aport 7 2 connected to the connection 61 and acts upon the piston 53 tomove it quickly towards the right, causing the collar 44 to be likewisemoved in a manner. similar to that previously referred to when it ismoved toward the left, the exhaust air in each of the two latterpositions referred to of the control handle 67 escaping through the pipe62.

I At the beginning of a coiling operation the reciprocable collar 44 ispositioned at the forward end of the ring 24 as shown fragmentarily indotted outline in Fig. 1 and the end of the wire to be coiled is firstthreaded through the aperture 48 formed in the flange of the collarand-turned back at an angle to hold it. Also the collapsible ring 24will be in its expanded position ready for the coiling operation. Uponthe spindle 10 being caused to rotate the wire 20 will be directed tothe high part of the tapered peripheral surfaces 31 of in the positionit assumes during the forming of a coil of wire 20, the coil being shownpartially formed upon the arbor -17. At this point in the operation ofthe-apparatus the wire 20 is directed to the tapered surfaces 31 of thesegmental elements 25 from the wire drawing machine and spiralsdownwardly along the tapered. surfacesin a single layer and then ontothe periphery of the arbor 17 against the outer taperedend face 47 ofthe collar 44. The collar 44, it will be apparent, opposes the wire20'as it is received upon the arbor 17, due to the air under suitablepressure entering the cylinder 52 through the pressure regulator 66 andexhausting through the blow off valve 65, the opposition of the" collarbeing suflicient to cause the wire to bulge outwardly and buildup into acoil, the

collar slowly moving rearwardly upon the arbor until it reaches theright dotted outline position (Fig. 1). This latter mentioned positionof the collar 44, it will be understood, may be varied according to thelength of the wire 20 to be coiled by suitable stops (not shown), butthe extreme movement of the collar towards the right'will be limited bythe i right end of the mounting for the roller bearing 51 engaging anangular surface 7 30f the housing 12. 7

After completingthe coil of wire 20 the rotating spindle 10 is stoppedand the inner end thereof which was threaded through the aperture 48 ofthecollar 44 at the beginning of the coiling operation and turned at anangle is turned back again to permit a free removal thereof, and thehand wheel 33 is ro, tated clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, to cause thecollapse of the ring 24, in the manner previously. described, toposition the flanges 32 of the segmental elements 25 slightly withintheperiphery of the arbor 17. Thereafter,

the control handle 67 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 4,whereupon, as hereinbefore described, the collar 44 will be movedquickly towards the left and cause the completed coil to-be forced orstripped from the.

- arbor 17 and onto the supporting and guiding surfaces provided by theend surfaces-of. the central portions 30'of the stationary blocks 29,hereinbefore described. This'movement of the collar 44 towards the leftis sufiicient to move the coil completely off the portions 30, whereuponthe coil will drop onto a skid or truck positioned thereunder oronto thefloor. At the end of this last described move ment of the collar 44 theleft end of the mounting for the-roller bearing 51, which slides uponthe housing 12, will engage the inner surface of the vertical wall 18 ofthe arhot- 17, thereby limiting its outward move- .ment.

Theend of the wire 20 to'be coiled in the and thereafter the controlhandle 67 is moved next coiling operation is secured in the aper- "ture48 of the collar 44 as previously described to the position shown inFig. 5. This, it will F be apparent, will cause the collar 44, throughthe previously described connections, tomove quickly towards the right,thecomparatively short, distance necessary to position it. as shown indotted outline in Fig. 1 at the left end of the apparatus; the controlhandle 67 is 'features thereof are capable of otherapplications andmodifications without departin from'the spirit and scope thereof asdefine in'the appended claims. What is claimed is 1. In a strandhandling apparatus, a ro tary driving element for supporting coiledstrand, a rotary collapsible member adjacent one end face of the elementand having a tapered peripheral face for receiving and then feeding thestrand onto the element, movable means for opposing the strand \as it isfed. onto the element and thereafter being used to remove the completedcoil fromthe element upon themember being collapsed, and means forcausing acollapse' of the member.

"2. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a collapsible member driven by the element andadjacent one end face of the ele ment and having a flanged and tapered'peripheral face for receiving, retaining and then feeding the strandonto the element, movable means for opposing the strand as it is fedonto the element and thereafter being used to remove the completed coilfrom the element upon themember being collapsed, and

-means for causing a'collapse of the member.

3. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a rotary collapsible means comprising aplurality of segmental shaped elements, each abutting one end/face ofthe element and having a tapered peripheral face serving as a unit toreceive and thereafter feed the strand onto the driving element, movablemeans for coil from the driving element upon the segmental means beingcollapsed, means for causing a collapse of the segmental means, andmeans for predeterminedly guiding the segmental elements during theirmovement.

4. Ina strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a rotary collapsible means comprising aplurality of segmental shaped elements, each abutting one end face ofthe element and having a tapered peripheral face serving as a unit toreceive and thereafter feed the strand onto the driving element, movablemeans for opposing the strand as it is fed thereon and thereafter beingused to remove the completedcoil from the driving element upon thesegmental means being collapsed, and means comprising a rotary handwheel connected to each of the segmental elements by individual linksfor simultaneously operating the elements to cause a collapse of thecollapsible means.

5. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a rotary collapsible means comprising aplurality of segmental shaped elements, each abutting one end face ofthe element and having a tapered peripheral face serving as a unit toreceive and thereafter feed the strand onto the driving element, movablemeans for opposing the strand as it is fed thereon and thereafter beingused to remove the completed coil from the driving element upon thesegmental means being collapsed, means rotatably mounted upon theelement and operatively connected to each of the segmental elements byindividual links for operating the elements to cause a collapse of thecollapsible means, and cooperating keyways and keys formed in and fixedupon the segments and driving element respectively for predeterminedlyguiding the elements during their movement.

6. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a rotary collapsiblemember abutting one endface of the element and having a tapered peripheral face for receivingand then feeding the strand onto the element; means axially aligned androtating with the driving element but slidable longitudinally thereoffor opposing the strand as it is fed onto the element and thereafterbeing used to remove the completed coil from the element upon the memberbeing collapsed, and means for causing a collapse of the member.

7. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving arbor for supportinga coiled strand, a rotary collapsible ring abutting one end face of thearbor and having a tapered peripheral face for receiving and thenfeeding the strand onto the arbor, a collar rotatably secured to andslidable longitudinally upon the arbor by means of a spline and providedwith a tapered end face for opposing the strand as it is fed onto thearbor and thereafter being used to remove the completed coil from thearbor upon the ring being collapsed, and means for causing a collapse ofthe ring.

8. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving arbor for supportinga coiled strand, a rotary collapsible ring abutting one end face of thearbor and having a tapered peripheral face for receiving and thenfeeding the strand onto the arbor, a movable collar surrounding thearbor for opposing the strand as it is fed onto the arbor and thereafterbeing used to remove the completed coil from the arbor upon the ringbeing collapsed, means for causing a collapse of the ring, and motivefluid means including a pis: ton operatively connected to the collar forcausing the collar to yieldably oppose the strand and for subsequentlymoving the collar along the arbor to remove the coil there from, andmeans for controlling the motive fluid means.

9. In a Wire coiling apparatus, a horizontal rotary driving arbor forsupporting upon its periphery a coiled Wire, a rotary collapsible meanscomprising a plurality of segmental shaped elements, each adjacent oneend face of the arbor and having a flanged and tapered peripheral faceserving as a unit to retain, receive and thereafter feed the Wire ontothe arbor, a collar rotatably secured to and slidable longitudinallyupon the arbor by means of'a spline connection and provided with atapered end face for opposing the Wire as it is fed onto the arbor andthereafter being used to remove the completed coil from the arbor upon.the segmental means being collapsed, means for causing a collapse ofthe collapsible means, and motive fluid means including a pistonoperatively connected tothe collar for causing the collar to yieldablyoppose the Wire and subsequently for moving the collar upon the arbor toremove the coil therefrom, and means for controlling the motive fluidmeans.

a 10. In a strand handling apparatus, a rotary driving element forsupporting coiled strand, a rotary collapsible means comprising aplurality of spaced elements, each adjacent one end face of the drivingelement and having a tapered peripheral face serving as a unit toreceive and thereafter feed the strand onto the driving element, movablemeans for opposing the strand as it is fed onto the driving element andthereafter be ing used to remove the completed coil from a the drivingelement and past the outer end of guiding the completed coil as it isremoved from the driving element after the collapse of the collapsiblemeans, and means for causing a collapse of the collapsible means.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this th day ofSeptember, A. D.

EINER WILLIAM LAB SEN.

